Tag Archives: terrorists

The Forty-Minute War is a novel that crosses genres, effortlessly incorporating elements of speculative fiction, spy thriller, black ops, romance and science fiction. The tale of jihadists setting off a nuclear bomb is as relevant in this updated book as it was when originally written in 1984. The story is timeless, apt for today, possibly even more than it was then.

The reader follows the fortunes of Marc Beck, a charismatic employee of the US State Department, Chris Patrick who is a newspaper journalist and Beck’s love interest, and Ashmead, a hardened CIA operative who leads a team of counter-terror black ops assassins. Together they weave in and out of a taut story and the tension makes the book hard to put down. There are twists and turns in this book that keep the reader gripped to the end. The characters live and breathe and I felt their pain, their tears, their love and their black humour.

The writing, as always regarding these authors, is excellent. As a devotee of novels by John Le Carre I never thought I would find authors writing in a similar genre who have the same wordsmith qualities as Le Carre, yet here they are. The depth, pace and quality of the book is certainly on equal terms. Underscoring the fast pace is the voice of authenticity and experience which lends credibility, giving fascinating insights into black ops in a Middle Eastern setting.

The 40-Minute War takes you on an adventure that begins when terrorists attack Washington with nuclear weapons. Immediately, an incompetent US government orders a nuclear retaliation. In the aftermath, when the entire US goes dark, only a girl reporter and a State Department intelligence officer in Tel Aviv, aided by Israeli counter-terrorists, have a chance of saving our civilization . . .